Nice & Naughty

by Tawny Weber

Published by: Harlequin

Rory’s Rating: 

Christmas scandal is comin’ to town.

He’d better watch out.

Because she’s not at all shy.

She’s looking for a bad boy

And he’s just the guy!

She’s making a list

Because her life needs some spice

And he’s gonna show her

How being naughty is nice!

It’s almost Christmas, and fashion-obsessive librarian Jade Carson is stuck. Stuck with her family, stuck in the town of Diablo Glen and stuck in her lousy life. Then superhot bad-boy detective Diego Salvador roars into town, looking for a criminal known as “the panty thief.” And Jade decides—right then and there—that the only panties he’ll be touching are hers.

 Rory’s Review:

This is one of the rare instances where I don’t think the publisher’s description does the book justice. Usually, I find that the blurb makes the book sound better than it actually is. In this case, the blurb makes Jade sound…jaded (no pun intended), because her life isn’t lousy, she actually enjoys it and she isn’t bitter. She is well-respected, well-settled, and all around comfortable in her small town. Perhaps a little too comfortable, as she finds the dating pool shrinking (and her pool of potential partners for hot sex shrinking too). Then Diego Salvador comes into town and turns her world upside down.

I really enjoyed this longer novella, though I may be a little biased for two reasons. The first, I love books and movies about librarians (I am one!). I think I am one of the few who actually watched The Librarian series on TNT starring Noah Wylie. Don’t worry if you missed it. The second is that I LOVE holiday romances. Thus, since Nice & Naughty combines two of my favorite things, I was bound to adore it.

Jade is a fun character. Things haven’t gone exactly as she planned since she had to move back home and take care of her mother, but she’s made things work. She has started teaching fashion classes at the library, she’ll soon be teaching a dress for success seminar at the local college, and her online and local fashion consulting business is starting to take off. The only thing missing in her life is a little spice. That changes the moment she sees Detective Diego Salvador standing in her bedroom holding her panties (he is trying to catch a panty thief after all!). She isn’t a shy girl, so she lets the detective know he is exactly what she wants.  However, sis promotion to a precinct in San Francisco is riding on his catching the criminal. He soon realizes the faster he catches the criminal, the sooner he leaves Jade behind. Together they must figure out what will happen and what risks they are willing to take.

As I said earlier, I adored this novel. I love reading about romance among glittering lights, gingerbread, and the Christmas season. Add in a hot cop and a sexy librarian and you’ve got a fun way to spend a holiday afternoon (though any afternoon will do).